Week three of the Middlesea Valletta Life National League at the Eden SuperBowl, saw a very unusual series of results as all five Division I matches ended with identical

2-6 score lines. Fina First stretched their early season lead by another two points by winning against Sammy’s Embroideries, while Aercomms won against Royal Shock to go second, pushing out Union Capital who went down against Redwell Heating. Ramis were winners against Fireballs to stay level with Aercomms, while HSBC emerged as victors from their clash with PharmaVet.

Fina First were stunned by a plucky Sammy’s Embroideries side in their opening game, the latter clinching a late win with 790 pins against Fina’s 780 effort. Fina’s superiority was on display from then onwards however, as they went on to take the second by a big 137 margin (723-860), and then claim the match with a 701-849 in the last of the set. Sue Abela (Fina First), 659, Bowler of the Week. Sammy Borg (Sammy’s), 546.

Aercomms climbed to second place thanks to their 2-6 win over Royal Shock who are currently sitting at the foot of the classification. Aercomms opened with a huge 726-884 win in game one, which featured a fantastic individual effort of 268 from Ray Falzon Reale, and then doubled up with a 765-782 win in game two to make it 0-4. the Aercomms of old had a habit of resting on the laurels of early match leads and then dropping their guard in the final game, and that demon came back to haunt them once again as they dropped to a poor 711 in game three, carelessly handing a two point share to their opponents who shot a 753. Ray Falzon Reale (Aercomms), 669, Bowler of the Week. Clive Farrugia (Royal Shock), 535.

Ramis are equal with Aercomms on 16 pins, but take third place due to a lower season pinfall total. They beat Fireballs in week three, rolling off with a 738-762 winner for the early advantage.

Fireballs bounced back to level the scores by winning game two 756-727, holding a nominal 5-pin advantage after two games, so it was all to play for in the last of the set. That fell easily to Ramis after a poor 666-727 game score to hand them the match. John Balani (Ramis), 557. Keith Bugeja (Fireballs), 532.

Union Capital Group previously had held the second spot, but dropped to fourth this week after losing out to Redwell Heating who are now eighth. Redwell drew first blood, taking game one by 75 pins (696-771), before Union Capital made it 2-2 with a very tight 717-715 equaliser in game two. Union Capital just weren’t clicking, and in spite of a line up change for game three, they lost it 684-789 to make it 2-6 to Redwell Heating. Jackie Azzopardi (Redwell Heating), 634. Simon Burke (Union Capital), 592.

The last game of the night saw a majority win for HSBC, who took the opening game of their encounter with Pharmavet 690-739. Pharmavet then pulled it back by winning game two 731-711, but HSBC responded well by taking game three 762-790 and so claim the series points by 57 pins (2,183-2,240). Bertram Vella (HSBC), 589. Steve Cassar (Pharmavet), 581.

Standings - Div. I, Week 3

Fina First-22, Aercomms-16, Ramis-16, Union Capital Group-14, HSBC-10, Fireballs-10, Sammy’s Embroideries-8, Redwell Heating-8, PharmaVet-8, Royal Shock-8

Bowlers of the Week

Ray Falzon Reale (Aercomms) 669; Sue Abela (Fina First), 659